Conspiracy Game

CHAPTER 20

Jack touched Briony’s shoulder and swept his hand up her arm to settle his fingers around the nape of her neck. Ken and he not only practiced such ascents, but had used them on occasion to escape enemies, but he’d never been so tense in a situation as he had in this one. Jack Norton didn’t get clammy skin, sweaty palms, or a churning stomach in combat. He was infamous for the ice in his veins and his complete discipline over his emotions when he worked, but now-everything had changed. Briony. He massaged her neck and leaned against her, absorbing the warm satin of her skin.

What is it?

She turned her head to look at him, her dark chocolate eyes filled with such an intensity of love his stomach seemed to turn inside out.

Damn, Ken, do men just make complete idiots of themselves over women? I feel like a fool every time she looks at me like that.

Jack felt more than a fool-he felt humble and undeserving, but most of all, there was a part of him that was afraid. If she left him, she’d rip out his heart and what was left of his soul. Sooner or later the rose-colored glasses were going to come off, leaving him naked and vulnerable to her scrutiny. She would see inside him, not just to the black violence always seething beneath the thin surface of ice he kept to cover it. No, she’d see the true monster-the one who didn’t feel-couldn’t feel.

Ken’s sympathy moved in his mind. Ken knew-he felt the same rage, and the same detachment. The monster was a legacy from their father they would never be free of, and any woman in their lives would have to live, just as they did, with that unspeakable demon.

Ken dropped a hand on Jack’s shoulder and looked toward the trees. We can’t stay in the open like this. It will be a good ten to twelve hours even with the teams scrambling to pick us up. We have to find cover and a defensible position.

Jack nodded and helped Briony to her feet. They moved fast in single file, staying to the trees and brush, careful not to make a sound. In the night, any noise carried, and they couldn’t afford to bring the enemy down on them. They needed as much distance as possible. As soon as they were a good mile from the cliffs, they began to pick up the pace, jogging now, using long, ground-eating strides.

Every muscle in Briony’s body felt fatigued, but there was satisfaction in knowing she’d not only used her circus training to escape Whitney’s men-but the very skills and abilities he’d provided. Even now, her enhanced muscles worked like a machine, carrying her fast over rugged terrain, and her vision enabled her to see in the dark when few others could have moved so quickly. And that was all due to Whitney’s experiment and the education he’d insisted on providing for her.

They jogged for two hours, took a break, and ran again, this time slowed down by the thicker brush and trees as they started downhill. Obviously Jack and Ken had a particular place in mind. They took cover a few hundred yards from a clearing. They hunkered down in a spot that had plenty of cover, with boulders, trees, and brush, but more importantly, depressions in the ground provided an added element of protection.

“We’ll rest here and wait,” Jack said. “The team is coming, and if we stay quiet, we might just get lucky.”

The men set about building a blind, a cavern of twigs and leaves where they could lie and rest while they waited. As dawn streaked the sky, Briony found tension rising and tried to cover it. Jack lay beside her, his fingers curling around hers, and on her other side, Ken appeared to doze.

How can you do that? Just go to sleep when we’re being hunted like animals?

Jack turned over to nuzzle her neck. Conserve energy, baby. That’s what it’s always about. Grab sleep when you can. We’re safe enough for a couple of hours. They have to figure out where we went before they can find us. He pulled her closer, his hand pressing her head to his shoulder until she relaxed. Briony had no idea how, but she drifted to sleep.

She woke to find Jack and Ken gone. She sat up, looking around her, heart beating fast. In the distance she could see Ken lying in the open clearing, talking softly into a radio. Jack was harder to spot, but she was beginning to know their methods, and she searched above, in the trees and rocks, knowing he’d be protecting his brother. She thought she saw him in a tree, but blinked, and when she tried to look closer, he wasn’t there. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he put a hand on her shoulder.

The familiar rifle was in his arms and his face looked grim. Ken returned, and there was a similar expression on his face. “Damn, Jack. I’m sorry. This is my mistake.” Ken shook his head in disgust. “We take it for granted we’re enhanced, and if they send anyone against us chances are the enhancement is only physical, but Whitney sent someone with psychic abilities too. I should have considered that possibility.”

“There was no way to know.” Jack shrugged as he crouched down beside his brother. “We had no choice; we had to use the radio to call our people in. Don’t waste time trying to blame yourself. They were bound to find us, Ken, and you know it. We have to move, and fast.” He held out a bottle of water to Briony.

“What happened?” Briony asked. She uncapped the bottle and swallowed quickly. The water was warm, but welcome all the same. She screwed the cap back on and offered the bottle to Ken.

“I had to use the radio and wanted to know how far out the extraction team was, but Whitney sent a radioman, a waver. They can sift through the frequencies at a rapid-nearly computer fast-rate, and hear anything being transmitted. Whitney’s people know exactly where the chopper is coming to get us, and they’re on the way, and they’ll get here first.”

Jack swore softly. “How far out is our extraction team, Ken?”

Ken shook his head. “Thirty minutes-too long. We’ll be dead by then.”

Briony gripped Jack’s hand. “What do we do?”

“We fight. We have no choice, baby; we have to fight. If we don’t keep them off of us, they’ll run us over in minutes-and it’s going to be a gauntlet, baby, nothing less. Whitney’s going to drop his team between us and the only extraction point and force us to fight our way through. He’s coming at us with everything he has because he’s running scared now. There’s a possibility that you’ll slip out of his hands. Once we reach Lily’s, he won’t be able to get near you.” He closed his eyes briefly trying to tell her. He couldn’t shield her from this one and he had to keep his mind open to her in order to convey commands.

Her hand brushed his face. She easily read his distress, but was uncertain why he was looking at her with such apprehension. “We’ve come this far, Jack; we’re going to make it.”

“I know. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you-it’s just that I have to do everything in my power to protect you-no matter the cost.”

She stared into his gray eyes, reading a plea for understanding. Briony leaned close to kiss him. “The cost had better not include a scratch on your body. You’ve got enough scars. Be a little careful, Jack.” She lifted her head to smile at Ken. “You too. Let’s just get out of this and get to wherever we’re going. Where are we going?”

The brothers exchanged another, almost despairing glance. She obviously hadn’t understood what Jack had been trying to say. He could only hope she wouldn’t turn away from him in horror when she discovered the real Jack-the one he kept hidden.

“We’ll head to Lily Whitney’s, the place Kadan told you about,” he explained grimly. “She’ll send a cleanup crew to the house; we’ll make the necessary repairs and set up a better alarm system. We’ll have to turn our home into a fortress if we go back.”

“Tell me what you want me to do,” Briony said.

There was so much trust in her eyes, Jack had to look away. This was battle, an all-out war, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. There were the three of them against a helicopter filled with soldiers. Ken and Jack had limited ammunition and weapons, and every bullet was going to have to be a kill.

The sound of a helicopter grew louder as Whitney’s men approached.

Infantry taking up positions at nine and twelve o’clock, Ken reported.

Jack handed Briony a gun and several clips of ammunition. Don’t waste this, baby. Shoot to kill. He caught her chin, looked into her eyes. You understand me? You shoot to kill. Ken and I will shield you from the repercussions. Not the emotional ones, that was impossible, but they’d do what they could.

Helicopter’s coming in. They could see it hovering over the thick grove of trees, whipping winds so that the leaves and branches swayed. Thick ropes dropped from the open doorway and several men began a fast descent toward the safety of the trees.

Briony stifled a cry of alarm when the first shot rang out, followed closely by a second and then a third. Jack reached up and yanked her down so that she lay prone on the ground between the two men. Three of the descending soldiers dropped instantly, crashing into the heavy branches. Ken calmly fired a fourth shot, and Jack took out a fifth soldier. It happened so fast she didn’t do more than stare, gun in her hand.

The helicopter veered away in an effort to protect the remaining soldiers. Both Jack and Ken fired at the retreating mechanical bird, placing their shots with care and precision. Almost immediately black smoke billowed and the helicopter spun out of control.

Go! Jack yanked her back up, pushing her in the direction of the clearing. Stay to cover but keep moving forward.

They ran several feet and the ground soldiers suddenly swarmed around them. For a moment, Briony felt despair-it seemed impossible to break through their lines-but then Jack lobbed a grenade and took her to the ground, covering her body with his while the world blew up around them. That fast, he was on his feet, firing from the hip and running with her again.

Briony realized both brothers were shielding her body with theirs as they ran, and that they anticipated where the enemy would be and what they would do. Experience counted far more in actual battle than she’d realized when training. By the time she aimed, one of the brothers had already fired. They kept moving forward, lobbing grenades, firing at the soldiers, always in motion. Smoke swirled thickly around them, and men screamed in pain. For the first time in her life, she was in a real combat situation, and it was horrifying.

A man tackled her from behind, and Jack whirled around, knife in his fist, slicing fast across the soldier’s throat as he fell with Briony. Blood sprayed over all of them, but neither man blinked; they simply hauled her to her feet and kept running. She was in Jack’s mind and expected fear for her, horror of what he had to do, but there was only calm resolve, no emotion at all-as if he were the killing machine Luther had called him.

Briony locked her mind into Jack’s in order to follow his lead. Her vision cleared, and she aimed and fired, bracing herself for the backlash of violence. When none came, she chose another target and fired again. The battle raged fast and furious, as they were pinned down.

Getting low on ammo, Ken reported.

Fuck. Me too. We’ll have to conserve and go hand-to-hand. Briony, stay out of the fighting if at all possible. Jack signaled them forward, and they rushed in the direction of the clearing.

To your left, to your left! Ken flashed the warning just as a shot rang out. Beside her, Ken faltered, stumbled, and went down.

Jack turned toward him, but whirled back to face the attack coming from his left side, a big man, moving fast, every bit as enhanced. Luther. He came out of the brush, his body blurred as he sped toward them.

Run, Briony. Get to the edge of the clearing and stay under cover until the helicopter gets here. It was Ken giving the order.

Jack and Luther crashed together hard, hands slapping away weapons as they tried to take each other down. They were like two huge bears, Luther roaring, Jack silent as they fought with fists and feet.

Get Ken out of here. Jack sounded calm, even as he delivered a round kick that drove Luther to the ground. Luther rolled away and came up onto his feet, wiping blood from his temple. He looked at it and smiled.

Briony spun around, reaching for Ken. Screw running. She snagged his shirt and crouched beside him, pushing the loaded gun into his hands. I still have another clip. How bad, Ken?

I’m bleeding like a stuck pig.

We can’t have that. She found the entrance wound, up high on his thigh. It didn’t look good to her. She took a belt and stick and made a quick field tourniquet, twisting tight to cut the flow of precious blood. A few more minutes, Ken, and we’ll have help.

Get me on my feet. I can make it. It’d be embarrassing if Jack had to carry me out of here.

Briony felt a surge of strength-of adrenaline-as she helped him up, but his body crumpled, nearly dragging her to the ground. The gun bucked in his hand twice, the sound deafening. It would be more embarrassing if I had to carry you. On your feet, Ken. We’ve got to go now. She used her sternest voice, feeling him slipping away from her as he wavered toward unconsciousness. Jack was counting on her-trusting her with his beloved brother-and she wouldn’t fail him. She wrapped her arm around him and heaved him to his feet.

Ken made a Herculean effort, leaning on her, gun firing as they half ran, half limped toward the clearing where the helicopter was setting down. Briony took him as far as the tree line, and when she saw the GhostWalker team leaping from the helicopter, she sat Ken down.

“He needs a medic right now. He’s losing blood.”

“Get in the helicopter, Briony,” Kadan ordered.

It was the safest place on the mountain for her and the babies, but she didn’t even consider it. Instead, she turned without hesitation and raced back to Jack.

The battle raged-two strong men well versed in hand-to-hand combat. The fight was the most brutal thing she’d ever witnessed-the two men punching and kicking, making every effort to literally smash each other into pieces.

She was in Jack’s mind and she felt his deadly resolve. He was detached from the fight, but his implacable purpose wasn’t. He was going to kill-there was no other thought in his head. He was going to smash his foot through Luther’s chest-and he did. Briony heard the crunch of bones as Luther went down.

Her stomach lurched at the sound. Don’t kill him-my sister. He can lead us to my sister.

Even wheezing and gasping for breath, Luther was lethal, drawing a long, razor-sharp knife from his boot and driving it up toward Jack’s belly. Jack jumped back, circled, and went in for the kill. Briony closed her eyes, but she heard the punch as Jack drove his fist-with every bit of enhanced strength behind it-through Luther’s skull, shattering it. The second punch smashed through Luther’s face, reducing the nose and eye sockets to pulpy splinters. It was a methodical, brutal, and deliberate kill, and never once did Jack’s mind shout for him to stop.

He knelt beside the body and looked up at her. I’m not apologizing for who I am. You can either live with me or you can’t. But he was holding his breath. Terror robbed him of his ability to breathe. If she left him, his life was worthless.

A soldier ran toward them, leaping over a fallen log. His gun was gone and his shirt torn and bloody, but she suspected he was enhanced. Jack looked exhausted as he knelt beside Luther, looking up at her with a dark, unfathomable expression. Briony didn’t hesitate, reaching past him to jerk the knife from Luther’s fist. She turned and threw it in one smooth motion, using her strength as she never had. I’m not apologizing for loving you. I can live with everything you are, Jack, and then some.

He stared up at her face, there in the midst of blood and death, with his heart pounding and his mouth dry. I absolutely love you, Briony, and I’m on my knees. So we’re getting married-right? But say it fast before we get shot.

Only Jack would ask-if you could call it asking-in the middle of a battlefield, with a man lying dead at his feet. You idiot. Get up and let’s get out of here. I love you too, and of course I’m marrying you. I’m not about to let you get away.

He caught her to him and crushed her mouth beneath his. They turned and ran toward the helicopter and the tough-looking men, armed to the teeth, spreading out to cover them.

“He all right?” Jack asked the medic as he examined his brother lying on the floor, strapped to a board. “How bad is he hit?”

“He’ll live; lost a lot of blood, but we’ve got some plasma going in,” the medic assured him.

“Nice to see you in one piece, Jack,” Kadan said to them. “Lily’s going to be happy to see you, Briony. She considers you a sister.”

Briony made a small sound of despair. Jack sank down, pulling Briony into his arms. She promptly burst into tears. He turned his body to shield her tears from the others. Once they were on board, the helicopter banked and made a wide turn, swinging out and away from the trees to climb a little higher. Smoke clouded the air, and far below them it looked like a battleground. Briony buried her face against his chest, silent sobs wracking her body. His fingers tangled in her hair as he held her to him, looking over her head at his brother.

“We’re safe now, Briony. With all of us guarding you, he can’t touch you,” he murmured soothingly, stroking her hair.

“But she’s not safe-my sister. With Luther dead, there’s no way to find her. She’s totally alone and I can’t get to her.” Briony covered her face with her hands. Marigold might at that very moment be praying for Briony to come-but it would be impossible. Her only hope to find Whitney’s laboratory had been Luther. “I know it was necessary, Jack, don’t get me wrong, you had to kill him-but I feel so lost.”

“Listen to me, baby.” He caught her chin and forced her to look into his eyes-eyes that were flat and as cold as ice-eyes that could warm her like the afternoon sun. “I never break my word-never. It’s a matter of honor with me. We’ll find your sister. We’ll move heaven and earth if we have to, but we’ll find her, and we’ll take her away from him. You have my word on that.”

Ken put his hand on her shoulder, ignoring the medic’s scowl. “I’m in all the way, Briony. We’re family. We stick together. We’ll get her out.”

Briony wiped at the streaming tears and looked from one man to the other. They were tough and scarred and could be difficult to live with-but she wouldn’t trade them for anything. She nodded. “Okay. Okay then. We’ll find her together.” Because she believed them. “I love you, Jack. Very much.”

“Hell of a time to tell me, babe.” We’re in a helicopter surrounded by men and there’s not much I can do about it now.

Briony smiled in spite of the circumstances. That was meant to be emotional, idiot, not sexual.

Don’t say sexual-you’ll give me a hard-on.

Ken sighed. Shut up, you two.

Jack and Briony both looked at Ken, then at each other, and burst out laughing.